The Topeka, Kansas-based Westboro
Baptist Church has announced it will protest the start of a gay
marriage law in Maryland.
The group plans to protest outside
courthouses in Annapolis and Baltimore on Wednesday, the first
business day since the state's gay marriage law took effect on
January 1.
“Westboro Baptist Church declares
forensic, never-ending war against same-sex marriage – in the cause
of God and truth in the earth. The message we carry is this: 'God
Hates Fags and Same-Sex Marriage, and God Dooms America and all other
Guilty Sodomite Nations,” the
anti-gay group said in announcing its plans.
Maryland's marriage law was the third
and last to take effect after winning voter approval in November.
Couples began marrying in Washington state on December 9 and in Maine
on Saturday.
In anticipation of the law's start,
Maryland began issuing licenses to gay couples on December 6, though
none became effective until the new year, which could lead to large
numbers of couples marrying on Wednesday.
(Related: Hundreds
of thousands say Westboro Baptist Church should be labeled hate
group.)